There are three main deliverables and deadlines for A1:

1. Generate startup concepts, evaluate them using modern tools, and then select two ideas to share with classmates via this Idea Submission Form.  These ideas will seed interactive brainstorming sessions during lecture on Tues of Week 2 (due by Sunday Jan 12 at 11:59pm). 

2. Fill out the team formation survey so we can form teams and announce them during lecture on Thurs of Week 2 (due by Tuesday Jan 14 at 11:59pm).

3. Submit a PDF to Canvas with your copy of the design journal template that captures all your A1 work (due by Tuesday Jan 14 at 11:59pm).

This section gives details on how to approach the assignment.  Each step includes guidelines on approximately how much time students should spend on each task [in brackets]. This 8-day assignment might require about 5-6 hours spread across multiple days. First, help everyone in the class get to know you by creating a slide for yourself in the Student Bio Deck. Second, make a copy of the "design journal" Google document template which you will fill in to complete the steps below.  

• 1. Create a SET Analysis: In your own copy of the design journal, start thinking about the current state of the world and create a SET analysis (social, economic, and technology trends) that builds a case for potential business opportunities for this year.  You can learn more and practice creating SET analyses in a group activity during the second lecture. After our brainstorming and research process (see below), revisit your SET analysis and add insights related to your select ideas.  Include references / citations to lend credibility your SET factors  [~30 minutes]

  2. Start ideating!  Generate at least ten open problems and potential angles for solving them. You have some clever ideas. Write them down, even on scraps of paper. All ideas seem great until you hit up against reality. Many times, your ideas for solutions already exist. Or, the problem you think you're solving is not really a problem. The whole point of this course is to explore and test whether an idea can stick.  To be successful, you need to start with lots of ideas, be open to feedback, and look for opportunities.   

In your design journal, brainstorm a list of open problems and potential solutions -- just a sentence for each.  Your solutions can be services, products, or apps, but even more important is identifying concrete problems that have not been solved.  For example, many students have thought about the idea of a grocery shopping app that works with a smart refrigerator (it's shocking how often it comes up!)...  however: A) there are already many smart fridges already out there, and B) Amazon looks particularly well positioned to capitalize on that idea.  Avoid ideas that already have known solutions.

Also avoid problems that are simply too vague to make meaningful progress. For example, "rising inflation" is simply too big to solve with a service, product or app.   A natural way to start is to remember an interaction with a situation or an existing product that could be improved or a recurring problem you would like to solve.  You can also take inspiration from your SET analysis or from any of the startup prediction sites listed in the Resources section below. Record each of your 10+ ideas in the design journal with a brief description of the problem and your proposed solution (or even a vague direction for how to solve it).   [~1 hour across multiple days; whenever you have an idea write it down!]

• 3. Research your 10 ideas using Web search: Similar products and services probably already exist. Spend time conducting Web search related to your 10+ ideas. Analyze solutions that already exist and their successes and shortcomings. If your idea already exists, abandon it or pivot the idea so that it improves upon existing solutions. In either case, record what you learned in your design journal and cite your sources with links to where you found key information. [~1 hour]

  4. Choose 3 ideas to evaluate with LLMs. Consider the good or bad things about each of your 10+ ideas. Choose three ideas to develop and evaluate with the help of large-language models (LLMs).  You may use the well-known and free ChatGPT service or any other LLMs you would like (see list in Design Journal template).  After you pick your three most promising ideas, identify the  1) the core problem, 2) the key stakeholders or people that will be impacted, and 3) your idea/solution for how to address it. Once you develop three ideas to this level of detail, try interacting with LLMs. For each of your three ideas, ask an LLM (or multiple LLMs) at least 5-6 questions to interrogate the problem and to evaluate your solutions in different ways. Take guidance from the prompting strategies and examples in the design journal document.  Document your interactions with LLMs in your design journal:  You can either copy/paste the text, share a URL using the embed social sharing tools (such as in the examples provided), or take screenshots of the entire exchange for each idea.  [~1-2 hours]

  5. Reflect on LLM interactions. Now reflect on the LLM responses. Did the LLM produce anything interesting to you? What new information did you find useful or inspirational?  How has the exchange with LLMs shaped your ideas? Reflect on why your ideas might be novel, valuable, scalable and exciting.  Note that LLMs are not infallible and are known to hallucinate. Use your own common sense and Web search ability to fact check and think critically about your project ideas, the relevance of responses, and any potential biases.  Make sure to offer arguments for the potential fit between your proposed problems, solutions, and customers. Include the written reflection in your design journal (no longer than 1 page of text)  [~1 hour].

  6. Refine and select 2 ideas to share with your classmates.  Based on your LLM conversations and reflections, select two ideas and elaborate them. We ask for two so that you are not wedded to a particular idea. More than likely all of these ideas will need to pivot and evolve once we start hitting up against the real world.  Submit your two best ideas via the Idea Submission form below. The teaching team will prepare a series of brainstorming sessions during lecture on April 9 based on these submitted ideas. The brainstorming sessions will provide yet another opportunity to develop your ideas while learning about other students and their ideas.    [~30 minutes]

     • Submit your two best ideas to the Idea Submission Form (due by Sunday Jan 12  at 11:59pm) 

  7. Review ideas by other students and fill out a team formation survey. The problems and solutions generated by students in A1 will help us create teams for rest of the quarter (Assignments 2-5).  During and after lecture on April 9, students should review all other ideas and potential problems identified by other students (Miro links will be provided later).  After reviewing the brainstorming sessions, please fill out the team formation survey.   [~30 minutes]

     • • Fill out the Spring 2024 Team Formation Survey (due by Tuesday Jan 14 at 11:59pm). 

  8. Review and submit your design journal link.  The final step of this assignment is to review your SET analysis, ideas, and reflections in your design journal. Make any updates you see fit and document any other sketches, notes, research, raw thinking that went into your process. Submit a PDF of your design journal to Canvas (due by Tuesday Jan 14 at 11:59pm) 

• • Required Readings:

    • Cagan & Vogel on Creating Breakthrough Products, Ch. 1. 

    • Patnaik and Becker, 1999, "Needfinding The Why and How of Uncovering People’s Needs"

  • Tools and resources for tracking innovations, startups, and other trends to get ideas:

    • https://www.producthunt.com/

    • https://explodingtopics.com/

    • https://www.kickstarter.com/discover

    • Forbes' 2024 tech predictions

    • 2024 Startup Lists: Cloudways, Fast Company, Crunchbase, Purpose Jobs, Tech.co

    • 2025 Startup Trends:  Stripe, Google Cloud, Forbes

    • Previous student projects can be found on the bottom of the website homepage as well as the early, rough A1 ideas from 2022, 2021 and 2020. 

  • See the Readings page for optional books, talks, and videos 

Students will be graded on their SET Analysis, idea generation and research, written reflection, and peer engagement.

• SET Analysis (15%)

  • • Does the student's SET analysis describe current and real trends that could affect new services and products?  

    • Are the factors relevant and comprehensive for explaining the potential product opportunity gap?  

• Idea Generation and Research (50%)

  • • Did the student generate lots of problems for potential startups to take on (at least 10)? 

    • Did are the identified problems real, concrete, and solvable?  

    • Did the student conduct Web research and analyze their ideas?  Did they find competing solutions, constraints, and relevant information that helped them choose 3 promising angles to explore further?

    • Did the student use LLMs to explore and evaluate three promising ideas? 

    • Did the student experiment with different prompts for LLMs (beyond the given prompts) to get inspiration and information about their ideas?   

• LLM Reflection and Idea Refinement (25%)

  • • Did the student reflect critically on their interactions with LLMs?

    • Did the student use LLMs as inspiration to help them develop two ideas that are novel, valuable, scalable and exciting? 

    • Did the student offer compelling arguments for the fit between proposed problems, solutions, and customers? 

• Peer Engagement (10%)

  • • Did the student submit two ideas to the Idea Submission Form on time?

    • Did the student engage during in-class brainstorming sessions? Did they provide effective feedback on others' ideas?

    • Does the student fill out the Team Formation Survey on time?